


Introducing the Intern

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-09-23
Updated: 2003-09-23
Packaged: 2019-05-15 19:11:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14796308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of theWest Wing Fanfiction Central, a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in theannouncement post.





	Introducing the Intern

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Introducing the Intern**

**by:** Dee 

**Category/Pairing:** Josh/Donna  
**Rating: MATURE**  
 **Disclaimer(s):** Not mine. Not really his anymore either.  
**Spoiler:** Spoilers all the way through current.  


**Notes:** Follows: "A Talk With Toby"

"What's my schedule?" I asked Donna as we walked in together through the front doors of the White House and past security together. I thought for a second that maybe we shouldn't be walking together in case that in some way might arouse suspicions. But then I considered the fact it was a total coincidence that we happened to arrive together and had absolutely nothing to do with any sort of suspicious activities. 

Definitely nothing. 

If anything, in the last few days Donna has been downright frigid. And the colder she's been getting the warmer Amy's been getting and the fact of the matter is I'm just a man and completely unable to cope with this kind of romantic stress while at the same time running the country. 

Which is probably why I was a little snippy when I asked for my schedule. 

She stopped in her tracks and looked around. "Did we or did we not walk in at the same time?" 

"We did?" 

"Then was I supposed to mentally divine your schedule?" 

"You mean you can't?" 

She shook head and for a moment, a brief moment, I thought I saw of glimpse of a smile. I missed Donna's smile. I missed Donna. 

I never should have kissed her. 

We walked to her desk where she picked up her scheduler and started rattling out a bunch of meetings. The first was with Will regarding language for an upcoming speech. I tossed my bag on my desk and went straight for the coffee. As I stirred my sugar and a half into the dark brew, she followed at my heels spouting off about the rest of my day. 

It was seven in the morning and already I was tired. 

"Donna I'm never going to remember all that." 

"You said you wanted your schedule." 

"In pieces. You know I can't eat the whole thing at once." 

"I can't do pieces anymore, Josh." 

"You can't?" 

"No. You've got me too busy doing other things. Today I have to go to the Hill. I don't know how long I'll be gone. You can't count on me to be here every hour of the day to fill you in." 

"I can't? But you're my assistant." 

"Josh." 

I know. I know. It had been my idea to give her more responsibility. My idea for her to take the meeting on the Hill with some key staffers regarding upcoming legislation that Donna had recently written a position paper on. 

I just didn't think that all of that would take away from me so much. 

"Fine. Go to the Hill. Give me the whole enchilada. I can take it." I sat back down at my desk and pretended to listen while really I thought that her hair looked especially blond today. Suddenly, she was done and asking me if I remembered everything she said, to which I replied that I was a graduate of Harvard and .Then she cut me off. 

After lunch and my morning meeting with Will and a brief weekend catch up thing with Toby I returned back to my part of the building and walked through my office door. Or tried to. 

I ran into something very large and heavy blocking part of my doorway and almost did a Van Dyke over the obstacle in question. Luckily, I was able to avoid a tumble and sheer humiliation. 

Because there sitting on what I now saw was a couch was a kid. 

Kid actually might have been stretching it. He was wearing a tie. 

"Who are you?" 

He smiled and stood up with his hand out stretched. "Ryan Bennett." 

"What are you sitting on?" 

The kid had the audacity to turn around and look. "A couch. Isn't it cool?" 

Cool? The thing covered half my doorway. 

"You see I got here - a little late - only nobody was here to meet me. So I started looking around and I realized that your office was the only office that didn't have a couch. And I was like what's up with that? A man's got to rest, right? Anyway I did some exploring and found two couches in this empty room in the basement. Then there was this guy who actually works in the basement, which is kind of creepy but whatever, who stumbled on to me. I told him about the couches and your office and he was cool. He took one and helped me bring the other one up here. Resourceful huh? And on my first day." 

"You stole a couch?" 

"It's not stealing. I didn't take it out of the White House." 

"Okay. And who are you again?" 

He was looking at me now like I was an idiot. I was about to smack him. "Ryan Bennett." 

"Donna! Donna!!!!" 

"She's not here," he informed me. 

"How do you know that?" 

"Because I was supposed to report to her only she wasn't here when I got here." 

"You were supposed to report to Donna." 

"Yeah. Donna Moss." He waited a beat then smiled and leaned in conspiratorially "I hear she's hot." 

Oh yeah, I was going to smack him. 

Just then as if she could hear my bellows from across the many hallowed halls of the West Wing, she appeared in my door . and almost fell over the couch. 

"Josh, where did you get this couch?" 

"From him," I said pointing to the kid who was clearly upset that nobody appreciated his creative scavenger hunt. 

"It hangs over the door." 

"Is that a problem?" he asked. 

"Only if I want to you know. shut it. But then hey we don't have any secrets here in the White House, do we Donna?" Was I funny or what? 

"Who are you?" she asked the kid. 

"Ryan Bennett." 

"Oh." 

"You know him?" Of course she did. Donna knew everyone. 

"Leo said he was sending over one of the new interns for us," Donna explained to me. "I take it you're him." 

"I am." 

"And you found a couch." 

"On my first day," he said still very pleased with himself. 

"But it doesn't fit," I reminded him. 

"That's because your office is the smallest." 

I looked at Donna. "That's because someone I know didn't get in here earlier enough when we were picking offices." 

She rolled her eyes because she's heard this before, but it was still a sore point. "I set my alarm clock for three a.m. Three a.m. Josh. How was I supposed to know that C.J. and Toby were going to camp out?" 

"You should have anticipated that." Those two were sneaky, even back then. 

"Anyway, I'm three feet closer to the Oval Office than Toby is," I stated justifying my small office. 

"And now it's got a couch," the kid added. You know I always wanted to have a couch. 

"You can't keep the couch, Josh," Donna said sensing my changing attitude. "For one you can't shut the door, for another there is a reason why I never let you have a couch in the first place." 

"What was that again?" 

"You'll end up sleeping on it." 

"Right," the kid said. "That's the point of a couch." 

She frowned at him and I wanted to point out that it wasn't a good idea to make enemies with the person who was essentially his new boss. 

"Josh, I need you." This was from Amy who appeared in my doorway. Things were starting to get crowded in my small office. 

She glanced down at the couch. "You know this couch takes up half your doorway." 

"Once again I'm in awe of your powers of observation." 

"That's not the only thing you used to be in awe of." 

Oh God. Sexual innuendo talk. In front of Donna and the kid. This wasn't good. I smiled lamely and prayed to God that she would stop. 

"I need him," Amy said to Donna. "What's his schedule like?" 

Donna looked at me. "You've got a two, a two twenty and a three and you're behind on the two because of the couch." 

"Oh man," said the kid. "My bad." 

Amy turned back to Donna. "This is important." 

"It's his call. I'll be at my desk." 

She left and I grimaced. None of this was good. 

"Who are you?" Amy asked of the kid. 

"Ryan Bennett. I'm Josh Lyman's new intern. Just checking," he said to me, ".but you are Josh Lyman right?" 

"Could you give us a minute?" Or a day or an hour or . ever. 

He left but couldn't shut the door behind him. Great. 

"If you can't fit me in during the day, how about dinner?" 

"I." didn't think it was a good idea to have dinner with Amy. It was just a guess, but I'm thinking it might make things worse with Donna. And right now I didn't think things could get any worse. I didn't want to find out. 

"I want to talk about the budget. The First Lady has some concerns." 

"That's not why you want to have dinner." I was an emotional idiot, but even I knew that. 

"I think we need to talk." 

"I think we said everything there was to say when you left. You know right before you came back. again." 

"Can I ask you a question?" 

"Okay." 

"Are you dating your assistant?" 

Oh look. And the circle of life is complete. "I already answered that once." 

"That was then." 

"Amy did it ever occur to you that the only reason you came back is because things didn't work out with your Congressman." 

"Did it ever occur to you that it didn't work out with my Congressman because of you?" 

No. Not really. And this from a man who had a sizable ego. "You were engaged . like yesterday." 

"I was practically engaged when you started to pursue me, it didn't stop you then." 

I was in competitive mode back then. I was out of it now. At least with her. But here was the thing. She wanted me. She was being honest about it. She was going to let me have sex with her. 

Donna not so much. Donna was playing it cool. And besides sex with Donna meant problems. Problems at work. Problems with Toby and Leo. Maybe even the president. If only I still wanted Amy it might have been easier. 

"Uh.excuse me." 

The kid was back. 

"Donna said to tell you that you're pushing against the two twenty." 

"Tell Donna that my response to her was to bawk like a chicken." Not the most mature answer but it should have occurred to both of them that I was not emotionally capable of handling this kind of controversy. Frankly, I was disappointed with them both. 

"Okay." He turned back to me. "I don't actually have to bawk, do I?" 

I glared. He left. The kid was learning. 

"Clearly this is becoming an issue," Amy noted. 

"Because you made it one. What happened between you two anyway?" 

She ignored the question. "So no dinner." 

"Amy I'm up to my eyeballs right now. Can't we just wait until things . calm down?" 

"In the White House?" 

Okay, she stealthily deduced that I was trying to put this off until forever. "I don't have time to "talk." If the First Lady has a problem with some of the numbers put it in a memo." 

"I'll check back with you later," she said and breezed out of the office. 

There was a soft knock and lo and behold: The kid. 

"What's your name again?" 

"Ryan Bennett." Now he was saying it like I was retarded. 

Bennett. Bennett. "Why does that name sound familiar?" 

"My father is Senator Tom Bennett." 

Currently the highest ranking member of the GOP. You know - if you didn't count the Vice-President. "And your father knows you're here." 

"I'm not like a spy or anything. I just graduated from Stanford, Magna Cum Laude with my degree in Political Science. He thought gaining actual experience in the White House would be more beneficial for me than going to work directly for him or moving on to grad school." 

"Uh huh. And what did you want to do?" 

"I wanted to backpack through Europe with a couple of buddies." 

"I see. So you reached a compromise." 

He smirked at me. Then tilted his head. "You've had to compromise with my father before. Not fun, is it?" 

No. And in a weird way I felt like we just bonded. "Get rid of the couch." 

"Got it. I didn't get why the whole closing the door thing would be so important. I mean secrets sure, but you've got woman troubles." 

"I don't have woman troubles." At least none that I wanted this kid to know about. 

"Yeah, right. One wants you, one's pissed. Dude, I've been there. Not that you should be complaining. They're both hot." 

"Come here." 

He walked closer and this time I did smack him upside the head. 

"Hey? Can you do that?" 

"Yes. Head smacking is totally permissible in the West Wing. Your father didn't tell you that? First, you need to understand that Donna Moss is my most valued assistant and a person who can teach you more about politics than you learned in all of your four years at college. Second, Amy Gardner is a highly respected political operative and currently the Chief of Staff for the First Lady. Both deserve your respect. Am I clear?" 

"Yeah." 

"Good." I felt as if I was back in control of my world. "I have a meeting. Maybe . see if you can find a smaller couch." 

He nodded, and I grabbed his arm before he could leave. "Only keep it quiet okay. Donna wouldn't let me have one, but if it's already here." 

"Got it. 

An intern, I thought. This could be good. 

Then I remembered he was the son of the highest ranking GOP elected official who was going to be around me constantly while I was in the midst of woman problems. 

This wasn't so good. 

The End.

See the Sequel: "Clues for CJ" 


End file.
